Skaters' feet are as diverse as their preferences for foot positioning. Some would prefer to have their ice skate blade or in-line skate wheels in a toe-out position, while others would prefer a toe-in position. Certainly, other skaters would prefer an alignment between the two extremes. Other preferences relate to the forward or rearward positioning of the wheels or blade with respect to the skate shoe. Optimal positioning of the foot relative to the wheels or blade depends on many factors including the shape and natural positioning of the individual foot, the use to which the skate will be placed, the ability of the skater, and personal preferences. For example, a skater using an in-line skate for alpine training may wish to position the frame (that holds the wheels) forward relative to the skate shoe or boot. A skate racer may wish to adjust the toe-in or toe-out and/or forward positioning of the frame relative to the boot for optimal forward thrust.
Skates have been developed that partially allow some of the above-described adjustments. However, limitations on desirable adjustments and the total lack of some forms of adjustment are inherent in the design of the prior art skates. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,746 issued to Gierveld ("the Gierveld patent") discloses a skate including a shoe with attachment screws projecting from its soleplate or base that engage slots in the skate frame (see FIG. 4 of the Gierveld patent). The rear of the shoe is mounted to the frame through a slot extending transverse to the longitudinal axis of the skate (see FIG. 7 of the Gierveld patent). This rear slot allows some lateral adjustment, but the length of the slot is limited by the width of that part of the frame. The front mounting assembly does provide some lateral adjustment by using an eccentric washer in the oversize longitudinal slot. However, the limits of this adjustment are narrowly dictated by the slot and the frame. More than minor lateral adjustments are not possible.
Another inherent limitation of the skate disclosed in the Gierveld patent is its inability to accommodate longitudinal adjustment of the shoe relative to the frame. FIG. 8 of the Gierveld patent illustrates the adjustability of the front frame attachment. The longitudinal slot is provided to allow for skate shoes of various sizes with the same frame. However, as mentioned above, forward/rearward adjustment is restricted by the rear transverse slot. Thus, longitudinal adjustments of the frame relative to a particular shoe or boot are not provided at all.
Because of the limitations of even the most adjustable current designs, the present invention was developed. The skate base-to-frame mounting system of the present invention effectively overcomes the adjustment limitations inherent in prior skates and provides a skater with greater options for comfort, performance, ability, and preferred skating style.